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Children who are raised in an environment of giving turn out to be well-adjusted, happy adults. Many parents want their children to become compassionate adults. But often, parents do not know exactly where to begin. One suggestion is parents introduce their children to volunteering.

Lead by Example:

Children who are given the opportunity to volunteer find they inspire joy in others. Moreover, children who volunteer during the holidays have a tremendous impact on those they serve. Volunteering during the holiday season reaps invaluable rewards and builds self-esteem.

Parents who volunteer themselves best accomplish the task of teaching their own children to volunteer. Children feel more at ease and learn faster by following a parent’s example.

One of the new “fads” that people are really getting into lately is donating cars to charitable organizations. I mean, I really shouldn’t call it a “fad,” because that could have negative connotations. Which is totally untrue. Just take a close look at the following video that has numerous tips for you if you feel like donating your vehicle to a charitable organization:

Donating your cars is actually a great way to give to a charitable organization in a way that will really benefit them, and without you actually having to count your donation in money. If you are looking to find an American car donation location, they are relatively easy to find. Frankly, any organization that you are interested in or invested in will probably take your car.

And who knows, maybe you’ll come across a federal employee that didn’t get his or her paycheck (thank you, Mr. Trump) and would be happy to receive your car as money will be getting tight in many families these days! Please let’s hope, for all those almost eight hundred federal employees, that this real crisis (more of a crisis that we see on our southern border) will be over soon!

The debt ceiling is supposed to be a stop-gap measure in that Congress is not supposed to spend more than what they spend. The Republicans for years used the debt ceiling to their advantage and try to get measures to offset spending to what they have to borrow, but for some reason, it never works. Then Obama did the same and now Trump is threatening to shut down the Government if there won’t be more money for the wall on the Mexican-American border…

But I cannot help but wonder why Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are always on the chopping block. If every taxpayer would look at his or her’s pay stub, you will find that you pay into social security and Medicare, but where does all that money go?

You don’t get social security or medicare until you retire or get disabled. But nowhere on the pay stub do you see a section for defense or the rest of the government. Congress (mostly Republicans) strip money out of these programs, to begin with. This is the reason they say we are going bankrupt.

Since time immemorial, the success of a merchant was largely determined on how skillfully he sized up the naïf or the swell entering his shop. Fixed retail pricing was an innovation of the 20th century, perfect for the mass market era when merchants no longer could know each customer well. So when we talk about Dynamic Pricing – Is It Just Bad Business?

“Through most of history, pricing has been personalized and dynamic,” says Erik Brynjolfsson, co-director of the Center for eBusiness at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who studied historical bazaars and flea markets for a better understanding of fine-tuning pricing. “In the 20th century, there was no easy way to personalize. Everything was standardized. One price fits all. Now with the Internet, we can go back to it.”

That’s the tantalizing theory, at least. The Internet allows a merchant to once again know the customer, know what merchandise he has bought before, what other sites he has visited (and how much they charge), and how eager he is to get the lowest price. Several software companies are using microeconomic theory, mathematics, a little psychology, and computer powers to analyze customer demand and set the best price.

I am a big believer that you can manifest anything. Read the Alchemist, or the Help, and learn what I mean in detail. But in short, you can create whatever you are thinking. So you determinate to manifest your desire. Actually, the term “Manifestation Determination” is used more often. So what is a Manifestation Determination? Why does it matter?

When a child with a disability behaves so badly that the school would like to remove the child, the school must officially determine if the child’s behavior was caused by his or her disability. This hearing, a Manifestation Determination Review is needed.

I think that sometimes we are behaving badly too and Manifestation Determination is needed to change it.

For instance, when you are in a bad mood, don’t you ever notice how many crazy maniacs you attract that day? Or when you are smiling and happy, how many wonderful opportunities are presented. Precisely, this is what I mean, whatever you are thinking and believing in, it will in some way materialize. Even big extravagant desires. Here is an example:

My heart is pounding. I just got off the phone with a senior government official regarding a work matter. The fact that she’s called me today means that this is a critical issue for the government and for my company. Just a work call…

She said she couldn’t discuss the full matter right now but could she call me back in an hour. I said yes. I then sat back down on the lawn chair and continued to watch my son play in the sandbox with his friend. I’m not officially working today but when you’re a part-time working mom, you know that there is no real “day off.” At any moment you might have to switch gears.

When you are looking for work, you will more than likely hit all the usual resources: friends and family, other members of your network, classified ads and job boards. But there is a very important resource you may be missing: the job fair when you’re looking for work.

Job fairs can either be held in real life or virtually online. They resemble what you might expect to find at a country fair or craft fair expect the vendors are real companies trying to recruit employees. Each company present will have a representative or more on hand to talk about the company, its mission, its style of management and job opportunities. They might have literature to give prospective employees and most will be will to talk with you and take your resume.

Job fairs can go on year round. Some companies participate in numerous across the country all year long. There are organizations in business simply to organize and facilitate job fairs. These affairs tend to attract large national companies with job sites in many locations. You could apply in Dallas and if they have an opening suited to you, could find yourself in New York.

The times are changing. American’s are no longer wanting to, and in some cases, able to buy everything their hearts desire. Welcome to the shared economy where leasing, borrowing and even selling your spare time can lead to a happier existence.

“The time is right to buy,” advises billionaire finance wiz, Warren Buffet, and clearly this is a big part of the American Dream. Buy! Buy! Buy! But is the American Dream still alive?

To be happy and successful, you must own a home. You must own a car… and an expensive purse… and a dog… and a bike… and some high-end power tools.

Accurate? I’m not so sure anymore.

In Suzy Orman’s 2012 book (we know she can be a bit irritating at times, but we think she’s nailed this issue on the head) The Money Class: Learn to Create the New American Dream she announces that the historical hallmarks of the American Dream—“the home, the job security, the education, the retirement”—are dead and can no longer be relied upon for a sense of financial security. Period. She recommends living well below your means in order to build up cash savings that can cover your expenses for eight months in case of a job loss or similar emergency.

Let’s have some talk about Deep Value Investing – the biggest value… By far, the biggest value that “value” investing has is that its principles can be applied – successfully – to a broad range of asset classes. It’s a mental and emotional framework that provides a recipe for success. To some, this may be a “duh” moment.

However, the reason I bring this up is that many investors pigeon-hole themselves into only publicly traded common stocks with value investing and ignore potentially fantastic returns in other assets. If you were to look at the portfolio of Baupost Group manager Seth Klarman, you would probably see a broad array of assets, some of which would probably leave you scratching your head a bit. But the mental framework is being applied.

Call Me Mister – South Carolina program aims to boost number of black male teachers at elementary level

Mark Joseph and Barry Tolbert are passionate about becoming elementary school teachers and have learned to ignore the skeptical looks, the discouraging comments about the profession and the fears of low pay. So let’s see what they did about it. They developed Call Me Mister – A Better Life program that’s helping many

”Lots of families encourage kids to be doctors and lawyers just to make money,” says Tolbert, 19, of Charleston. ”I think a teacher is the most effective person in America. You don’t hear folks say ‘I look up to my lawyer. My lawyer has done so many things for me.’ But teachers make a difference in lives.”

The young men are in a program developed by Clemson University to address the looming shortage of teachers. This program, though, plans over the next four years to train 240 young black South Carolina men to be elementary school teachers. The program, named ”Call Me MISTER” after the 1970 Sidney Poitier movie They Call Me MISTER Tibbs, offers the participants full college tuition, room and board and small stipends in exchange for teaching for a minimum of four years in South Carolina after graduation.